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What’s new? How much do they cost? And how do they perform? Ian Backhouse brings you the low down on the Callaway Paradym AI Smoke irons
Callaway is one of the biggest golf brands and is best known for innovation and excellence in golf equipment. With the introduction of their latest offering, the Callaway AI Smoke Golf Irons, we are presented with a blend of craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology evolved via AI. So how did we find them? Find out in the Callaway Paradym AI Smoke irons review.
The Callaway Paradym AI Smoke irons are built on the original Paradym irons to be very high-performing players’ distance irons.
The heads are packed full of technology and feature the new AI Smart Face, but Callaway have not forgotten that these irons need to look good behind the ball and inspire confidence in the golfer.
Callaway Paradym AI Smoke Irons Review: First Impressions
These are great-looking irons with a sleek, sophisticated design that immediately catches your attention. They feature a refined blue/grey smoke finish that exudes elegance. When you look down at the clubhead at the address, it has quite a thin top line, which will appeal to some.
On closer inspection, the sole is not chunky too; perhaps the combined chrome base and dull grey insert play a trick on your eyes as this is a slimmer sole than you may come to expect from a club that sits perhaps more in the player’s distance category rather than the game improvement category, despite the hollow body construction.
NCG Verdict
Last year, I was lucky enough to test the Callaway Paradym irons on their release for sale. I was really impressed with the distance gains I achieved when comparing them to my old Callaway Mavrik irons. This year, having read all the information on the Callaway AI Smart Face, I was interested to see whether these irons were as long (and straight!) as the original Paradym’s. I tried them out initially at the driving range using a Full Swing launch monitor to see how they stacked up against a couple of other new irons.
Sample data – 7 iron – 10 ball average.
Brand
Ball speed
Club speed
Launch angle
Spin
Carry distance
Total distance
Callaway AI Smoke
107
74
16
3493
156
175
Titleist T200
103
76
19
4697
145
158
Mizuno Pro 243
103
74
19
4627
145
159
There are a few caveats here: The Paradym AI smoke is a slightly stronger lofted club, and none of these irons have been custom-fit to me, which would change the spin numbers.
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I also tried the 5 and 9 irons across all 3 models, and the results were very similar – higher ball speed, lower launch angle, lots less spin than is optimum for the club but longer carry and, given the lower ball flight, significantly longer total distance. I didn’t see big differences from normal strike shots when I looked at the dispersion numbers and factored in my normal shape/proximity to the target. However, anything slightly off-centre still flew well and didn’t stray too far from the target, which was interesting.
All pretty impressive stuff however, I always find when testing on the driving range with a launch monitor, somehow you seem to swing a little faster as you get warmed up; you’re not in a competition, so there is no jeopardy if it goes wrong and somehow you swing a little bit freer than when there are no hazards other than those you are conjuring up in your mind’s eye. Given all that, I was keen to see how they stood up out on the course under the watchful gaze of my playing partners, who would certainly not hold back if they didn’t live up to the hype.
The weather has been terrible in the UK over the winter, so conditions on all but the driest links and heathland courses have left those of us playing parkland courses arranging and then cancelling due to course closures or playing with winter restrictions quite often when the game has been on.
In a funny kind of way, taking these new irons out when conditions have been so tough has actually been beneficial. A few holes in, my normal playing partners, keen to offer some banter, were slightly taken aback by the extra yardage I had somehow come across—noted by my different to normal club selections and the increased carry distances easily visible due to the ball stopping or plugging in the wet ground.
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We have 4 pretty tough par 3’s on our course, and I hit 1 club less into all of them. On our longer par 4’s, with no run off the tee shot, this usually leaves hybrids and 4/5 irons into the green; with the AI Smoke, I could reach some of these greens with a 6 iron (equivalent to the summer) and on shots that weren’t quite struck correctly I was greenside for distance however any dispersion benefits were less identifiable.
These irons are slightly heavier than my own; however, I felt this might be an advantage out of the rough, and with the longer irons, I felt these irons were slightly more forgiving than other irons I had been testing. Taking these irons out on the course in the winter/spring has certainly highlighted the distance benefits for good and poorly struck shots. The dispersion was trickier to measure as a benefit, and certainly, as the ground and greens firm up, the lower ball flight seen in testing and on the course might entail some adjusting as the problem of stopping the ball might become an issue.
These great-looking irons are definitely worth considering if you are looking for distance and forgiveness, especially from off-centre strikes. The ball leaves the clubface at some speed, and the potential extra distance will, in turn, lead to different club choices. You should definitely be custom-fitted to ensure you have the right head shape (and weight) and shaft combination for your swing speed and shot shape; I feel I would definitely have had a higher ball flight and potential carry with a different shaft – this might not have changed overall distance but would make it easier to stop the ball sooner in the summer. As you would expect from Callaway, these clubs come with a full range of shaft and grip options and are another step forward in using technology to optimise the performance of a wide range of golfers.
We always recommend getting a club fitting before purchasing new equipment. Did you know American Golf offers free fittings across its UK stores? Find your nearest store today!
Callaway Paradym AI Smoke Irons Review Review: The Details
